The present invention relates to an actuator apparatus having a drive element which can tilt and/or pivot in a predetermined manner in response to electrical activation and which is formed such that it can be contacted by an output partner in order to transmit mechanical drive energy.
An apparatus of this type is generally known from the prior art and is used, for example, in connection with rotary actuation tasks.
Reference is made, by way of example, to WO 03/019582 A1 as the prior art which forms this generic type. Said document describes an electromagnetic rotary actuator which is used, in particular, in the automotive industry for moving a throttle valve for internal combustion engines. In this known prior art, a drive element in the form of a tilting or pivoting lever is held such that it can rotate about a bearing shaft, and, in response to a suitable supply of power to the coil system, the pivotable drive element is moved to a desired tilting position. In this case, the operating principle is based on a resonant switching principle using springs, for example helical springs, and, in the exemplary embodiment, renders possible rotary displacement of approximately 40° with a typical switching time in the range of between 2 and 3 ms.
The disadvantage of a known apparatus of this type is initially the high level of structural outlay; four coils have to be used in the abovementioned prior art in order to move a relatively large rotary armature as the drive element. High-frequency activation is also necessary for the known resonance principle, associated additional control-related expenditure and also a predetermined pivoting or end position of the drive element only have to be maintained when the coil system is acted on by a permanent holding current (also for overcoming the spring forces).
Accordingly, the object of the present invention is to simplify the design of an actuator apparatus which produces a tilting and/or pivoting movement of a drive element, in particular to reduce the mechanical and control-related expenditure while at the same time rendering possible a rapid switching (tilting and/or pivoting) process and providing the preconditions for a large number of actuator positions to be kept in the powerless state, that is to say the drive element remains at a predetermined tilting and/or pivoting angle as a rotary position, even if not electrically activated.